A piece of lint

[hayn]

Hoping you didn't use the Hammer! But seriously. I have a D2 that stopped focusing properly. It was doing fine, then I started getting blurry pictures every once in a while. It got worse over time and eventually it stopped altogether. You can actually hear the lens moving in and out during focusing if you put it up to your ear. If you hear faint clicks that will tell you it's moving in and out to attempt to focus. If you hear nothing (as my D2 eventually did), then the lens is frozen.

You SHOULD be able to see the movement of the actual lens. First put your phone into camera mode. Then, hold the phone vertically with the display facing away at a slight angle, and position the phone with the camera lens so that it's under a bright light and you're looking at it not straight on, but slightly from the side. The light from overhead will cast a small shadow around the focusing element. Then lightly tap your display screen to cause it to refocus and watch the lens (and the shadow) closely. The lens should move outward toward the back of the phone about 1 or 2 mm, then back in as it tries to find focus. If you have the right light and angle you'll see the circular shadow around the inner lens assembly go from almost none to one about 2mm wide and then back to almost no shadow. If this is happening, then it's more likely a software problem for you.

On my D2, it simply didn't move and to be sure I was troubleshooting properly I would tap the phone on the desk either on the back (to focus distance) or on the face (to focus close-up) and could actually take pictures in relatively good focus that way. This proved to me it was a motor issue, not a software one and the camera was still taking pictures accurately given the light that was passing through the lens.

I actually disassembled mine and replaced the camera with one bought from a parts salvager off eBay. It works perfectly now.

Well I can take very close up pictures as long as the object is close up but anything far or a good distance away it won't focus.

 

[FoxKat]

Well I can take very close up pictures as long as the object is close up but anything far or a good distance away it won't focus.

OK, so it IS taking photos, but won't extend the lens assembly to focus beyond a range of perhaps less than 1 foot? This is almost definitely a hardware failure and would be the motor that moves the lens in and out.

It's done in any one of a number of ways, but typically (and likely) it's an electromagnetic process where the focusing lens sits on a micro-spring assembly similar to a trampoline and then there are 2 or more tiny coils that ride up and down permanent magnet rods. The coil is energized and depending on the amount of power applied determines how high or low on the magnets it sits. These coils do not touch the magnets, but "float" up and down around the magnets. This is most likely exactly like the Laser Lens Assembly in your CD Rom drive or home CD player. The reason it's done this way is because it's such a small amount of movement, and such a small device that it requires so little power to move, but it needs to be so precise.

This normally works beautifully until either the springs become unevenly stretched or the coils are able to move out of alignment. This could be due to a fall or bump, or could be a hardware failure of one of the coils, perhaps a broken wire on the coil so that now only one coil gets energized, or a spring that breaks loose on one of the suspension points. If that happens, they rub on the magnet posts and the up and down movement is impeded. If the rubbing or friction is too strong the assembly can't focus at all and you're left in a fixed focus position somewhere between macro and infinity. Seems yours settled in at the Macro position. The dust you mentioned could also be the cause if it worked in between the two surfaces and essentially prevented the lens from moving freely.

This is almost exactly what mine did. To test this (if you dare), smack it face down (glass side) against your palm a few times (not real hard but like a gentle clapping), but be careful not to hit the glass against a ring for instance, or to hit it unevenly. If you do this and then take a photo, see if the focus rage has moved perhaps further toward infinity. If it hasn't moved or instead moves to a tighter macro position, then flip the phone over and slap it against your palm but this time camera side down. Try the photo again and see if the focal distance has changed. Again, try to take a photo of a distant object and see if it's now either in focus or closer to being in focus. When my D2 camera failed, I was able to do this to get photos when absolutely needed, and I actually got pretty good at hitting the right amount of pressure on the phone to get the lens to move the amount necessary to focus where I wanted by trial and error.

Anyway, if the phone is under 30 days old, take it back immediately and you'll get a brand new phone. Otherwise, again it will still be under the normal warranty but instead of a brand new phone, you'll get a refurbished one.

Good luck!

 

[hayn]

OK, so it IS taking photos, but won't extend the lens assembly to focus beyond a range of perhaps less than 1 foot? This is almost definitely a hardware failure and would be the motor that moves the lens in and out.

It's done in any one of a number of ways, but typically (and likely) it's an electromagnetic process where the focusing lens sits on a micro-spring assembly similar to a trampoline and then there are 2 or more tiny coils that ride up and down permanent magnet rods. The coil is energized and depending on the amount of power applied determines how high or low on the magnets it sits. These coils do not touch the magnets, but "float" up and down around the magnets. This is most likely exactly like the Laser Lens Assembly in your CD Rom drive or home CD player. The reason it's done this way is because it's such a small amount of movement, and such a small device that it requires so little power to move, but it needs to be so precise.

This normally works beautifully until either the springs become unevenly stretched or the coils are able to move out of alignment. This could be due to a fall or bump, or could be a hardware failure of one of the coils, perhaps a broken wire on the coil so that now only one coil gets energized, or a spring that breaks loose on one of the suspension points. If that happens, they rub on the magnet posts and the up and down movement is impeded. If the rubbing or friction is too strong the assembly can't focus at all and you're left in a fixed focus position somewhere between macro and infinity. Seems yours settled in at the Macro position. The dust you mentioned could also be the cause if it worked in between the two surfaces and essentially prevented the lens from moving freely.

This is almost exactly what mine did. To test this (if you dare), smack it face down (glass side) against your palm a few times (not real hard but like a gentle clapping), but be careful not to hit the glass against a ring for instance, or to hit it unevenly. If you do this and then take a photo, see if the focus rage has moved perhaps further toward infinity. If it hasn't moved or instead moves to a tighter macro position, then flip the phone over and slap it against your palm but this time camera side down. Try the photo again and see if the focal distance has changed. Again, try to take a photo of a distant object and see if it's now either in focus or closer to being in focus. When my D2 camera failed, I was able to do this to get photos when absolutely needed, and I actually got pretty good at hitting the right amount of pressure on the phone to get the lens to move the amount necessary to focus where I wanted by trial and error.

Anyway, if the phone is under 30 days old, take it back immediately and you'll get a brand new phone. Otherwise, again it will still be under the normal warranty but instead of a brand new phone, you'll get a refurbished one.

Good luck!

Thanks ill try this and let you know how it turns out.

 

[Robotics]

Sorry for taking so long to respond. This forum doesnt seem to let me know when someone has responded to a post of mine. I am taking it you figured out how to use the vacuum cleaner trick. (just cover the lens with the hose and let it do its job. And yes taping it will help)

I have noticed sometimes on mine I need to tap on the screen to get it to focus on the subject. Curious if you have tried that yet? (just tap on the screen on the object you need focus)

 

[SallyC]

Sorry for taking so long to respond. This forum doesnt seem to let me know when someone has responded to a post of mine.

Go to MySettings>General Settings and scroll to Message and Notification. You can set your preferences there.

 

[hayn]

Sorry for taking so long to respond. This forum doesnt seem to let me know when someone has responded to a post of mine. I am taking it you figured out how to use the vacuum cleaner trick. (just cover the lens with the hose and let it do its job. And yes taping it will help)

I have noticed sometimes on mine I need to tap on the screen to get it to focus on the subject. Curious if you have tried that yet? (just tap on the screen on the object you need focus)

You won't even focus on an object that's like a foot in front of you but it does focus on objects really close up.

 

[Robotics]

Go to MySettings>General Settings and scroll to Message and Notification. You can set your preferences there.

Thank you Sally! Got it

 

[SallyC]

Thank you Sally! Got it

Took me a bit to find that at first too. Glad it's helpful.

 

[Josebunbury]

I would try the compressed air as Sally suggested and keep the phone out of your belly button from now on

Oh this had me rolling for hours..!!!!:hail:

 

[FoxKat]

You won't even focus on an object that's like a foot in front of you but it does focus on objects really close up.

Hayn, have you checked the picture settings on the screen to see if the camera is set for MACRO mode (the icon is a flower)? If so, that would possibly explain why it won't focus on items farther out. There should be either a bar across the bottom of the screen with several icons on it, or a triple line on the far left (just below the zoom control). If the icons are visible, make sure the third icon from the left is a capital 'A'. If the icons aren't visible but the three lines are on the left, tap it to expand the menu choices.

Still, it sounds like you may have a hardware failure (the camera itself - with the focusing element stuck). I certainly hope not.

Good luck! :biggrin:

 

[hayn]

Hayn, have you checked the picture settings on the screen to see if the camera is set for MACRO mode (the icon is a flower)? If so, that would possibly explain why it won't focus on items farther out. There should be either a bar across the bottom of the screen with several icons on it, or a triple line on the far left (just below the zoom control). If the icons are visible, make sure the third icon from the left is a capital 'A'. If the icons aren't visible but the three lines are on the left, tap it to expand the menu choices.

Still, it sounds like you may have a hardware failure (the camera itself - with the focusing element stuck). I certainly hope not.

Good luck! :biggrin:

Yea its on auto, its still not focusing so I'm going to take it in to Verizon and let them check it out.